Even being Capcom's best-selling game ever, even with the widespread critical acclaim and obscene popularity, I still truly believe that Monster Hunter: World & Iceborne comprise an incredibly underrated and underappreciated game. Skill Up, a YouTube critic whose opinion I respect a lot called it "one of the best games ever made" and it's incredibly refreshing to see that because I don't think enough people are willing to make such a statement about Monster Hunter: World, I am another of those who is.
I think when you have a franchise that has a new game coming out every 3 or 4 years it's hard to really bask in the quality of any individual release. You often talk about the games in relation to eachother and think about how good they are compared to others in the series and don't hold them up against other games as a whole. A similar thing I think happens to Pokemon, for example. Generations 2-5 of Pokemon consist of some of the most popular and enjoyable JRPGs ever released, yet no one's ever willing to talk about how Pokemon Emerald or Pokemon Black/White 2 are some of the best games of all time because they're too swept up in the discourse of whatever else new is happening in the series, and comparing them to that.
But no, man. Even with Rise having released since, the more I think about it since the dust has settled the more I truly believe that Monster Hunter World & Iceborne deserve to be held up in even higher regard than they are. We need to really step back and look at not just how good this game is in the context of the series, but when held up against other games of its time. This game came out in 2018, over 4 years ago as I'm writing this review. Isn't that insane? It feels like you could release it today in 2022 and it would still be absolutely astounding in terms of presentation, in terms of quality-of-life changes and in terms of sheer memorability.
Context is important, so for a second I am gonna quickly compare this to another game in the series, ironically. Look at Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate from 2014, and look at just how dramatically this game improves upon that (already fantastic game) in less than 4 years. Gorgeous and sprawling interconnected maps with no loading screens, scoutflies eliminating the need to throw paintballs at monsters to track them, moving whilst using items, being able to physically see a monster you've just captured back at base camp after you've done so. There are countless quality-of-life changes and gorgeous little touches of artistry that make this game so fundamentally immersive and enchanting to play. World's maps truly are alive and so dense, you could get lost in them for hours just exploring and taking in all the endemic life and visual setpieces in all their little nooks and crannies.
And no, those maps may not always be perfectly suited for combat as a result (here's looking at you, Ancient Forest) and the game may be too RNG-heavy in its endgame, but these trade-offs are absolutely palatable in my opinion when you consider just how many things this game does right. Combat is still fundamentally so much fun, armour design is consistently incredible even if weapon design is lacking (which is markedly improved in Iceborne anyway) and the game perfectly paces its feedback loop by giving the player the most resplendent and relaxing (and customisable!) player home yet.
This game has given me so many memorable moments. Even with 4 years and a whole new game after it, I still think about my first time encountering Namielle and that unbelievable final boss fight of Iceborne all the time. A modern fucking classic, old school elitists be damned.
I think when you have a franchise that has a new game coming out every 3 or 4 years it's hard to really bask in the quality of any individual release. You often talk about the games in relation to eachother and think about how good they are compared to others in the series and don't hold them up against other games as a whole. A similar thing I think happens to Pokemon, for example. Generations 2-5 of Pokemon consist of some of the most popular and enjoyable JRPGs ever released, yet no one's ever willing to talk about how Pokemon Emerald or Pokemon Black/White 2 are some of the best games of all time because they're too swept up in the discourse of whatever else new is happening in the series, and comparing them to that.
But no, man. Even with Rise having released since, the more I think about it since the dust has settled the more I truly believe that Monster Hunter World & Iceborne deserve to be held up in even higher regard than they are. We need to really step back and look at not just how good this game is in the context of the series, but when held up against other games of its time. This game came out in 2018, over 4 years ago as I'm writing this review. Isn't that insane? It feels like you could release it today in 2022 and it would still be absolutely astounding in terms of presentation, in terms of quality-of-life changes and in terms of sheer memorability.
Context is important, so for a second I am gonna quickly compare this to another game in the series, ironically. Look at Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate from 2014, and look at just how dramatically this game improves upon that (already fantastic game) in less than 4 years. Gorgeous and sprawling interconnected maps with no loading screens, scoutflies eliminating the need to throw paintballs at monsters to track them, moving whilst using items, being able to physically see a monster you've just captured back at base camp after you've done so. There are countless quality-of-life changes and gorgeous little touches of artistry that make this game so fundamentally immersive and enchanting to play. World's maps truly are alive and so dense, you could get lost in them for hours just exploring and taking in all the endemic life and visual setpieces in all their little nooks and crannies.
And no, those maps may not always be perfectly suited for combat as a result (here's looking at you, Ancient Forest) and the game may be too RNG-heavy in its endgame, but these trade-offs are absolutely palatable in my opinion when you consider just how many things this game does right. Combat is still fundamentally so much fun, armour design is consistently incredible even if weapon design is lacking (which is markedly improved in Iceborne anyway) and the game perfectly paces its feedback loop by giving the player the most resplendent and relaxing (and customisable!) player home yet.
This game has given me so many memorable moments. Even with 4 years and a whole new game after it, I still think about my first time encountering Namielle and that unbelievable final boss fight of Iceborne all the time. A modern fucking classic, old school elitists be damned.